theblaze--2020-10-10--Washington AG fires investigator who stiffed a waitress on a tip for wearing a Black Lives Matter pi

Washington AG fires investigator who stiffed a waitress on a tip for wearing a Black Lives Matter pin The incident @ @ @ @

Washington state Deputy Attorney General Todd Bowers has fired senior criminal investigator Cloyd Steiger after it was found Steiger stiffed a Tacoma waitress on a tip for wearing a Black Lives Matter pin while working.
What are the details of the incident?
According to KING-TV, Steiger — a 61-year-old former Seattle police homicide detective — visited a restaurant on Sept. 6, where he ran up a $46.74 bill and refused to tip the server.
Instead, on the purchase receipt, Steiger wrote, "BLM button = no tip. That's how socialism works."
While at the restaurant, Steiger also reportedly "made a scene."
According to The Seattle Times:
A server, 19-year-old Reese Vincent, said she met the couple and led them to a table on the patio, where they ordered cocktails and appetizers. Steiger, she said, seemed "standoffish" and anxious to leave. They asked for their check after a single round of drinks, she said.
Vincent, who has since turned 20, said Steiger pulled out his wallet to get his credit card and she noticed it bore "the American flag symbol with the blue line through the middle," describing the "Thin Blue Line" flag, adopted as a symbol of solidarity with law enforcement, although some see it as a symbol of white supremacy and institutional racism.
Vincent said she was respectful and cashed them out. At that point, according to witnesses and the AG's investigation, Steiger confronted another young employee he thought was a manager and angrily confronted him about the BLM buttons. That conversation ended with Steiger swearing and flipping the young man off.
Steiger shared a photo of the receipt on his Facebook page after his visit at the restaurant, which soon went viral.
Just two days later, the attorney general's office placed Steiger on a suspension pending an investigation into the incident.
'Extremely poor judgment'
The attorney general's office on Wednesday concluded that investigation into Steiger's behavior, determining that he showed "extremely poor judgment" when he visited the Tacoma restaurant in September with his wife. During the investigation, Steiger also reportedly told investigators that he believed Black Lives Matter as an organization was on par with the Ku Klux Klan, and added that "both are hate groups."
According to Bowers' termination letter, Steiger — who worked as a chief criminal investigator for the district attorney's Homicide Investigation Tracking System — displayed "angry, disrespectful, and disruptive" behavior while at the restaurant.
The outlet reported that Steiger, according to Bowers' letter, "failed to meet the integrity standards of the office," and with his behavior, "had undermined the trust of the public and his fellow workers."
The Seattle Times reported that Bowers also said Steiger "irreparably compromised [his] credibility and brought significant disruption and embarrassment to the office."
According to The News Tribune, "the Attorney General's Office reviewed more than 150 phone calls, social media posts, and constituent mail" following Steiger's post.
"A running theme throughout this public feedback is that your behavior evidences racial bias towards Blacks and people of color and that you — and by extension the AGO — cannot be trusted in your role as a criminal investigator to remain unbiased," Bowers wrote in Steiger's termination letter.
Dan Jackson, spokesperson for the office of Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, told The News Tribune that the termination letter "speaks for itself" and offered no further comment on the decision.
Has Steiger responded to the news of his firing?
The Times also reported that Steiger on Thursday announced he plans to contest the firing.
On Friday, Steve Fogg, an attorney for Steiger, said that the termination would violate Steiger's First Amendment Rights.
In a lengthy statement, Fogg said, "Terminating Cloyd is both a mistake and illegal. It is uncontested that Cloyd has served the public well for over forty years — his personnel record with the AG is spotless and he has been instrumental in solving dozens of homicides. The AG is firing Cloyd not because he didn't do his job (he did it well) and not because he didn't tip a waitress and raised his voice — if the AG fired people for that sort of private behavior, the ranks of the AG would be thin indeed."
"The AG," he continued, "fired Cloyd for expressing political opinions as a private citizen with which some members of the AG's Office disagreed. That is not just illegal, but sets a frightening precedent that we will have no choice but to contest in court."
Of the initial incident itself, Fogg said Steiger's "emotions were running high because he has two sons who are Seattle police officers," as The Times reported, "one of whom had been involved in confrontations with BLM protesters at the East Precinct."


theblaze--2020-10-11--Far-left Portland mayoral candidate praises Joe Biden for saying, 'Antifa is an idea'

Far-left Portland mayoral candidate praises Joe Biden for saying , 'Antifa is an idea' The candidate , who owns a @ @ @ @ @ is leading big in the Portland mayoral race

Far-left Portland mayoral candidate Sarah Iannarone praised Joe Biden for his comment about Antifa from the first presidential debate, where he said, "Antifa's an idea, not an organization." This comes at a time when Iannarone leads incumbent Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler (D) by double digits.
The eye-opening statement was made during Thursday night's debate between the candidates running for Portland mayor. KGW-TV anchor and debate moderator Laural Porter asked Iannarone, "You've been called the 'Antifa Mayor.' Are you Antifa and how would that guide how you would handle protests as mayor?"
Iannarone responded, "I love that Joe Biden answered this question before me, because being opposed to fascism in 2020 is not something to be embarrassed about."
"I have a bumper sticker from the beginning of my campaign that says #EverydayAntifascist," Iannarone said. "And what I have tried to do is normalize peaceful responses to the rise of white nationalism by organizing in my community."
"This summer when the Proud Boys came to town, I organized a menstrual product drive for my neighbors residing in the women's center," the Portland mayoral candidate answered. "Because the answer toxic masculinity is an inclusive, pluralist society where people of all backgrounds feel welcome."
When she is asked if she is "Antifa," Iannarone replied, "Antifa is not anything more than an idea, that's what vice president Biden explained to us. It's people who oppose anti-fascism. And I strongly oppose anti-fascism and I adopt and implement peaceful responses to that. And that is how I describe my position on this issue."
"Donald Trump has decided to make the enemy of groups of people who oppose his bullies and his militia forces," she continued. "But I'm not going to be caught up in that rhetoric because it's false. It creates division in our society. It creates division in our city. What we need is every single Portlander faced in the right direction, saying 'Hate is not welcome here.'"
Last year, Iannarone declared, "I am antifa. I stand proudly beside the good people of this city organizing in countless ways every day to oppose hate in its myriad forms."
There is no shortage of footage from Portland of rioters, who appear to be Antifa supporters, causing massive damage to the city and businesses.
During the debate, a Portland resident asked Iannarone what she would do about the "dangerous and violent" riots and if she would stop the city from being burned down night-after-night.
Iannarone skirted the question about rioters, and instead said she would hold the police accountable.
"We need equal enforcement of the law regardless of who is engaging in criminal activity," the candidate stated. "And as Portland mayor, I will not be able to control what any individual protester is doing in the streets. My job will be making sure that the police do their jobs, making sure they are held accountable for when they break procedure and even the law. That will be my job as Portland mayor, and ultimately, we'll have a police force that's well equipped to enforce the law without racial bias in the future."
"I condemn violence in all forms," Iannarone added. "I always have. But we must know that the answer to protests about police brutality cannot be increased police brutality."
Speaking of skirts, Iannarone owns a skirt with some communist authoritarians printed on it, including Che Guevera, Joseph Stalin, and Chairman Mao.
Iannarone gave the Washington Examiner an explanation for wearing the unusual skirt.
"The picture in question was taken with Reverend Billy, whose spectacle of the absurd is a treat whenever it comes to town," Iannarone said. "I dressed flamboyantly that day in a skirt that features pop art — art that is meant to satirize the subjects. While most Americans are focused on stopping COVID from taking our lives and jobs, some internet commentators are focused on how I dressed during a performance art appearance in 2016. I'm focused on winning a Green New Deal and Housing for All Portlanders, not on false controversy meant to distract from real issues."
According to a poll of likely voters, Iannarone holds a significant 11-point lead over current Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler. The polls released this week found Iannarone at 41%, Wheeler at 30%, and the remaining 29% split between writing in a candidate (16%) or remaining undecided (13%), according to Willamette Week. The poll has a 4% margin of error.


theblaze--2020-10-11--(UPDATED) 1 dead, man in custody after fatal shooting in Denver near 'Patriot Rally' and 'BLM-Antifa

(UPDATED) 1 dead, man in custody after fatal shooting in Denver near 'Patriot Rally' and 'BLM-Antifa' counter-protest

( UPDATED ) 1 dead , man in custody after fatal shooting in Denver near 'Patriot Rally ' and 'BLM-Antifa @ @

Update: After the publication of this article, the Denver Police said the suspect has no affiliation with Antifa. Previous news reports suggested otherwise.
Two suspects were taken into custody by police on Saturday afternoon after a person was shot and killed in downtown Denver. The shooting happened near two rival protests between a "Patriot" rally and a "BLM-Antifa" counter-protest.
Denver Police released a statement late Saturday night: "Further investigation has determined the suspect is a private security guard with no affiliation with Antifa. Additional information will be released as it becomes available."
9NEWS is reporting: "A 9NEWS producer and a 9NEWS contractor were taken into custody."
The 9NEWS producer was reportedly a person of interest, but was later released and is not a suspect, according to 9NEWS.
"A private security guard who was hired by 9NEWS is the suspect detained by DPD," 9NEWS reported Friday night. "It has been the practice of 9NEWS for a number of months to hire private security to accompany staff at protests."
An event dubbed the "Patriot Muster" rally organized by John "Tig" Tiegen was held at 2 p.m. at Denver's Civic Center Park. "It's time we let these communist socialists know we have had enough," a description of the event read. "Fight back, push back. Time to take our country back!"
Once the Denver Communists organization caught wind of the rally, they scheduled a counter-protest called the "BLM-Antifa Soup Drive."
"We scheduled our action after learning that the militia-fascists had called a 'patriot muster' against the Black Lives Matter movement, anti-fascists and Marxists," a spokesperson for Denver Communists said. "That's us — guilty as charged and happy to oblige with our presence."
"The plan is to set up our tables and tents in Civic Center Park, as near as we can be to the fascists," Denver Communists said. "We'll have soup for our family, music, speakers, communist books, and plenty of angry anti-fascist chants."
KUSA reporter Marc Sallinger was covering the rally and the counter-protest.
"Hello from downtown Denver where far-right militia groups are holding a rally," Sallinger wrote on Twitter. "Far-left Black Lives Matter Antifa groups are holding a counter protest nearby."
Police separated the two opposing groups with fences.
At 5:48 p.m. EST, Denver Police's official Twitter account wrote: "Officers are investigating a shooting that occurred in the Courtyard by the Art Museum." The police said the shooting victim was transported to the hospital.
The Denver Police shared updates that two suspects were in custody, and that the shooting was "now being investigated as a Homicide."
Video from the area shows an orange cloud of smoke or vapor followed by the sound of a gunshot. Footage shows Denver Police rush to the scene with guns drawn, then order two men to the ground, including a man dressed in all black with a handgun. Meanwhile, the victim lay motionless on the ground.
(CAUTION: Graphic video)
Earlier in the day, rival protesters got in each others face. There were also agitators dressed in all black burning a thin blue line flag in front of Denver Police.
At one point, men dressed in all black with umbrellas scream at police for speaking to an older woman. The woman instructs everyone to "relax."


theblaze--2020-10-11--Shooting victim and private security guard suspect from Denver protests identified, family reacts

There was a man shot and killed amidst protests by two rival groups in Denver on Saturday .
The shooter , a private security guard working for a local TV station , was arrested without bond and was being held for suspicion of first-degree murder .
Matthew Robert Dolloff , 30 , is a Pinkerton private security guard who was hired by KUSA-TV to accompany their reporters while covering protests and riots in Denver .
Denver Police released a statement about Dolloff on Saturday night , `` Further investigation has determined the suspect is a private security guard with no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be released as it becomes available . ''
The decision on any charges against Dolloff will be up to the Denver District Attorney 's Office , police said .
A spokesperson for District Attorney Beth McCann said Sunday that the arrest affidavit in the case remained sealed .
The Denver Post is reporting that the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses have no record of Dolloff having a license to work as a private security guard in the city , according to spokesperson Eric Escudero .
`` We do not currently have an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ active license for anybody with that name , '' Escudero said .
`` If he was operating as a security guard , he was in violation of the law . ''
There was a `` Patriot Muster '' rally organized by John `` Tig '' Tiegen held at Denver 's Civic Center Park .
Upon learning about the `` Patriot Muster , the Denver Communists organization set up a counter-protest called the `` BLM-Antifa Soup Drive . ''
Lee Keltner , a 49-year-old U.S. Navy veteran , was in the area of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of any group , '' said the shooting victim 's son , Johnathon Keltner .
`` He was there to rally for the police department and he 'd been down there before rallying for the police department . ''
There was an incident where Kelter got into a verbal altercation with a man wearing a `` Black Guns Matter '' shirt at around 3:30 p.m. local time .
Keltner , who has a can of Mace in his hand , steps away from the argument and goes out of the view of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out and you see Keltner fall to the ground .
Photos show that Keltner and Dolloff got into a physical altercation before the Mace was sprayed and prior to the gun being fired .
Police rushed to the crime scene with guns drawn and Dolloff surrendered .
Two guns and a can of Mace were found at the scene , according to Joe Montoya , the division chief of investigation at the Denver Police Department .
Keltner was taken to a hospital , where he was pronounced dead .
`` My son Lee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Denver , '' Keltner 's mother , Carole , wrote on the `` He was murdered because he backed the police . ''
Lee Keltner 's sister told The New York Post that his son is not handling the death well .
`` He was there , '' said Suzan Keltner .
When she was asked if her nephew was doing okay , she said , `` No , no he 's not . ''
`` He was my brother , my only sibling , '' she said .
`` He also served @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to be a lawsuit , '' Suzan Keltner added .
`` So , I do n't know how much we can let out . ''
John `` Tig '' Tiegen , one of the organizers of the Patriot Rally event , offered his condolences to the family of the victim .
`` I 'm deeply saddened to learn of the tragic death of a fellow American patriot after a rally in Denver on Saturday , '' Tiegen wrote .
`` Regardless of the circumstances , I want to send my deepest condolences @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' `` It 's tragic that Americans find themselves in danger just by coming together and showing support for their country , '' he added .
`` The fact that simple things like wearing patriotic attire now makes you a target in an American city should be a concern for every freedom-loving person .
If Americans reach the point that they 're afraid to publicly show support for their country , the radical Marxists have won . ''

There was a man shot and killed amidst protests by two rival groups in Denver on Saturday.
The shooter, a private security guard working for a local TV station, was arrested without bond and was being held for suspicion of first-degree murder. Matthew Robert Dolloff, 30, is a Pinkerton private security guard who was hired by KUSA-TV to accompany their reporters while covering protests and riots in Denver.
Denver Police released a statement about Dolloff on Saturday night, "Further investigation has determined the suspect is a private security guard with no affiliation with Antifa. Additional information will be released as it becomes available."
The decision on any charges against Dolloff will be up to the Denver District Attorney's Office, police said. A spokesperson for District Attorney Beth McCann said Sunday that the arrest affidavit in the case remained sealed.
The Denver Post is reporting that the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses have no record of Dolloff having a license to work as a private security guard in the city, according to spokesperson Eric Escudero.
"We do not currently have an active license and have never had an active license for anybody with that name," Escudero said. "If he was operating as a security guard, he was in violation of the law."
There was a "Patriot Muster" rally organized by John "Tig" Tiegen held at Denver's Civic Center Park. Upon learning about the "Patriot Muster, the Denver Communists organization set up a counter-protest called the "BLM-Antifa Soup Drive."
Lee Keltner, a 49-year-old U.S. Navy veteran, was in the area of the protests.
"He wasn't a part of any group," said the shooting victim's son, Johnathon Keltner. "He was there to rally for the police department and he'd been down there before rallying for the police department."
There was an incident where Kelter got into a verbal altercation with a man wearing a "Black Guns Matter" shirt at around 3:30 p.m. local time. Keltner, who has a can of Mace in his hand, steps away from the argument and goes out of the view of the camera.
Then a gunshot rings out and you see Keltner fall to the ground.
Photos show that Keltner and Dolloff got into a physical altercation before the Mace was sprayed and prior to the gun being fired.
Dualing rallies in Denver leaves one dead Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
Dueling rallies in Denver leave one dead Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
Police rushed to the crime scene with guns drawn and Dolloff surrendered.
Two guns and a can of Mace were found at the scene, according to Joe Montoya, the division chief of investigation at the Denver Police Department.
Keltner was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Lee Keltner operated a hat-making business in the Denver area.
"My son Lee was at the patriot rally today in Denver," Keltner's mother, Carole, wrote on the Northeast Arkansas Tea Party Facebook group, according to Fox News. "He was murdered because he backed the police."
Lee Keltner's sister told The New York Post that his son is not handling the death well.
"He was there," said Suzan Keltner. When she was asked if her nephew was doing okay, she said, "No, no he's not."
"He was my brother, my only sibling," she said. "He also served our country."
"There's going to be a lawsuit," Suzan Keltner added. "So, I don't know how much we can let out."
John "Tig" Tiegen, one of the organizers of the Patriot Rally event, offered his condolences to the family of the victim.
"I'm deeply saddened to learn of the tragic death of a fellow American patriot after a rally in Denver on Saturday," Tiegen wrote. "Regardless of the circumstances, I want to send my deepest condolences to the family of the victim."
"It's tragic that Americans find themselves in danger just by coming together and showing support for their country," he added. "The fact that simple things like wearing patriotic attire now makes you a target in an American city should be a concern for every freedom-loving person. If Americans reach the point that they're afraid to publicly show support for their country, the radical Marxists have won."


theblaze--2020-10-11--Amy Coney Barrett's opening statement is out, and liberals are already outraged

Amy Coney Barrett 's opening statement is out , and liberals are already outraged ' ... i want misogyny to @ @ @ @ @ let this woman f***ing fail '

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett released on Sunday the opening statement she will read when her confirmation hearing begins this week — and liberal outrage over what Barrett will say immediately ensued.
Barrett's hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin in-person on Monday.
What will Barrett say?
In addition to giving the committee biographical information, Barrett will preview her judicial philosophy — and it already has liberals up in arms.
Barrett, a conservative-leaning justice, will tell the committee that "policy decisions and value judgments" should be made by government branches that are held accountable to the American people — which is not the Supreme Court.
Courts have a vital responsibility to enforce the rule of law, which is critical to a free society. But courts are not designed to solve every problem or right every wrong in our public life. The policy decisions and value judgments of government must be made by the political branches elected by and accountable to the People. The public should not expect courts to do so, and courts should not try.
That is the approach I have strived to follow as a judge on the Seventh Circuit. In every case, I have carefully considered the arguments presented by the parties, discussed the issues with my colleagues on the court, and done my utmost to reach the result required by the law, whatever my own preferences might be. I try to remain mindful that, while my court decides thousands of cases a year, each case is the most important one to the parties involved. After all, cases are not like statutes,which are often named for their authors. Cases are named for the parties who stand to gain or lose in the real world, often through their liberty or livelihood.
What was the response?
Those opposed to Barrett's nomination immediately began gnashing their teeth.


theblaze--2020-10-11--Trump declares he is 'immune' to COVID-19, Twitter flags and limits sharing of president's tweet

Trump declares he is 'immune ' to COVID-19 , Twitter flags and limits sharing of president 's tweet Twitter slapped @ @ @ @ @ tweet and limited how users could interact with the post

Twitter has once again flagged one of President Donald Trump's tweets. The tech giant's latest censoring of the president's account involves a post where Trump declared that he is "immune" to COVID-19.
On Sunday, Trump tweeted: "A total and complete sign off from White House Doctors yesterday. That means I can't get it (immune), and can't give it. Very nice to know!"
Twitter flagged the president's tweet, claiming that it violated the company's rules "about spreading misleading and potentially harmful information related to COVID-19." The post was not deleted after the social media platform deemed that while the communication broke Twitter's rules, the tweet may be in the public's interest to remain accessible.
The president's tweet was accessible; however, Twitter limited how users could interact with the social media post. Attempts to reply to the president's immunity tweet result in a pop-up window that says Twitter "disabled most of the ways" a user can engage with the post as a way to stop the tweet from "reaching more people."
Twitter also disabled users from retweeting Trump's tweet or giving it a "Like." The only engagement of the president's tweet that is permitted is to "quote tweet" the post.
On August 3, CDC said people could continue to test positive for up to three months after diagnosis and not be infectious to others. Then the CDC issued another press release on Aug. 14 that provided clarification. "Contrary to media reporting today, this science does not imply a person is immune to reinfection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in the 3 months following infection," the CDC stated.
On Friday, Trump gave an interview to Dr. Marc Siegel, a medical contributor to Fox News, where the president said that he was at "the bottom of the scale or free" of coronavirus.
On Saturday, Navy Cmdr. Dr. Sean Conley issued a memo and declared that Trump meets the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for "safe discontinuation of isolation," and by current "recognized standards" he is no longer considered a transmission risk to others.
On Sunday during an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, Trump said, "It seems like I'm immune, so I can go way out of a basement, which I would have done anyway."
Trump resumed his campaign events on Saturday with a White House South Lawn event that was coordinated with Candace Owens' Blexit organization, which encourages minorities to not blindly and automatically vote for Democrats. Trump is scheduled to appear at a reelection rally on Monday in Sanford, Florida.
This isn't the first time that Twitter has censored Trump's account.
In May, Twitter flagged a Trump tweet for "glorifying violence." The post read: "...These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won't let it happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!"
In June, Twitter blocked a Trump tweet that said: "There will never be an 'Autonomous Zone' in Washington, D.C., as long as I'm your President. If they try they will be met with serious force!" Twitter's explanation for censoring the president is that the post violated the company's policy against abusive behavior, "specifically, the presence of a threat of harm against an identifiable group."
Also in June, Twitter removed a meme that the president posted because The New York Times filed a copyright complaint.
In July, Twitter removed one of Trump tweets over copyright complaints by the alternative rock band Linkin Park.
During a hearing on anti-Semitism in July, a Twitter representative defended the social media company's decision to flag tweets from Trump, while at the same time allowing tweets from Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that call for genocide.


theblaze--2020-10-11--Top WHO official to world leaders: 'Stop using lockdowns' to control COVID; 'Terrible, ghastly, glob

Top WHO official to world leaders: 'Stop using lockdowns' to control COVID; 'Terrible, ghastly, global catastrophe'

Top WHO official to world leaders : 'Stop using lockdowns ' to control COVID ; 'Terrible , ghastly , global @ @

A top official at the World Health Organization is urging world leaders to stop "using lockdowns as your primary control method" against the coronavirus.
What's the background?
When COVID-19 struck the world, most countries responded by enacting strict nationwide lockdowns. The decision plunged the world economy into an immediate recession, the consequences of which are still being felt even months after most countries have lifted their strict lockdown measures.
In fact, experts estimate the pandemic, and the ensuing lockdowns, plunged around 100 million additional people into "extreme poverty."
From the Wall Street Journal:
The coronavirus pandemic has thrown between 88 million and 114 million people into extreme poverty, according to the World Bank's biennial estimates of global poverty. The reversal is by far the largest increase in extreme poverty going back to 1990 when the data begin, and marks an end to a streak of more than two decades of declines in the number of the extremely impoverished, which the World Bank defines as living on less than $1.90 a day, or about $700 a year.
What did the WHO official say?
Dr. David Nabarro, the WHO's special envoy on COVID-19, told the Spectator last week that lockdowns are not the answer to COVID-19.
"We in the World Health Organization do not advocate lockdowns as the primary means of control of this virus," Nabarro said.
"The only time we believe a lockdown is justified is to buy you time to reorganize, regroup, rebalance your resources, protect your health workers who are exhausted," he added. "But by and large, we'd rather not do it."
Nabarro pointed to the devastating economic side-effects of the lockdown as evidence for why world leaders should not enact further lockdowns.
"Just look at what's happened to the tourism industry in the Caribbean, for example, or in the Pacific because people aren't taking their holidays," he explained. "Look what's happened to smallholder farmers all over the world because their markets have got dented. Look what's happening to poverty levels. It seems that we may well have a doubling of world poverty by next year. We may well have at least a doubling of child malnutrition."
"This is a terrible, ghastly, global catastrophe, actually," Nabarro added. "And so we really do appeal to all world leaders: Stop using lockdown as your primary control method."
"Develop better systems for doing it," he continued. "Remember, lockdowns have just one consequence that you must never ever belittle, and that is making poor people an awful lot poorer."


theblaze--2020-10-11--Staten Island GOP hoodwinks Trump rally saboteurs into donating thousands to Republican Party

The leadership of the Staten Island GOP definitely subscribes to the age-old adage , `` Turnabout is fair play . ''
When thousands of teens on TikTok attempted to sabotage a Trump rally , the organizers turned the tables and tricked them into donating to the Republican Party .
The Staten Island Republican Party organized the `` TRiUMPh Rally , '' billed as the `` largest pro-Trump , pro-Republican , pro-Law and Order rally in New York City this year . ''
Originally , the event was free to all , as long as they RSVP 'd before the Oct. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the rally , the organizers noticed that the RSVPs skyrocketed suddenly , and tens of thousands of people were responding and asking to attend the pro-Trump rally .
`` We had about 1,500 RSVPs from Staten Islanders .
Then all of a sudden we started seeing the numbers tick up to 10,000 , 15,000 , 75,000 , '' Staten Island GOP chairman Brendan Lantry told The New York Post .
`` We knew something was not right . ''
The organizers spotted that the uptick of activity started on Sept , 19 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ from out-of-state .
Not to mention that they had some questionable names , such as `` Ivana Punchyou , '' `` F**kyou Trump , '' and `` Grabemby DePussay . ''
Is that last name French ?
Lantry 's wife Jessica did some investigating and found the source for the fake rally participants — TikTok .
A 19-year-old TikTok user who goes by the name of `` Felisrae '' posted a video on Sept. 19 , subtly hinting for her followers to claim tickets to the Trump rally .
The 51-second video is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new york or just HATE this idiot . ''
`` Do you hate this orange b**** as much as I do ?
It turns out that Trump is having a rally in Staten Island , '' the teen says on the TikTok video .
`` So what I did was , I reserved myself two seats .
But I 'm pretty sure that I have something to do that day .
So , do what you want with this information . ''
The video racked up over 550,000 views and more than 154,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the video is to cause Trump supporters not be able to attend because the tickets will be gobbled up by people who had no intentions of attending .
This troll tactic was employed in June for a Trump rally in Tulsa , Oklahoma .
That campaign event was not as popular as other Trump events , and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ( D-N.Y. ) celebrated the lower-than-expected turnout .
`` Y'all make me so proud , '' she said .
`` Actually you just got ROCKED by teens on TikTok who flooded the Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you into believing a million people wanted your white supremacist open mic enough to pack an arena during COVID , '' Ocasio-Cortez tweeted at former Trump campaign s To deter the anti-Trump saboteurs from influencing the rally , Lantry added a non-refundable $ 5 fee to the online sign-up form .
But the army of trolls were unflinching in their attempt to affect the rally .
`` But they kept coming , '' Lantry said .
`` From Colorado and California and Chicago and Houston , all over the country . ''
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sold more than 3,000 vouchers and collected $ 15,785 from people who had no intention of attending the rally .
To make matters worse for the Trump-hating trolls , the rally was attended by 2,500 people to deliver well-wishes to President Donald Trump .
No seats were sold since it was an open-air rally .
The attempted sabotage did n't affect attendance whatsoever .
`` They hate this president so much that they 're willing to donate to the Republican Party to troll him , '' Lantry gloated .
`` Thank you , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a successful rally . ''

The leadership of the Staten Island GOP definitely subscribes to the age-old adage, "Turnabout is fair play." When thousands of teens on TikTok attempted to sabotage a Trump rally, the organizers turned the tables and tricked them into donating to the Republican Party.
The Staten Island Republican Party organized the "TRiUMPh Rally," billed as the "largest pro-Trump, pro-Republican, pro-Law and Order rally in New York City this year." Originally, the event was free to all, as long as they RSVP'd before the Oct. 3 event.
At one point before the rally, the organizers noticed that the RSVPs skyrocketed suddenly, and tens of thousands of people were responding and asking to attend the pro-Trump rally.
"We had about 1,500 RSVPs from Staten Islanders. Then all of a sudden we started seeing the numbers tick up to 10,000, 15,000, 75,000," Staten Island GOP chairman Brendan Lantry told The New York Post. "We knew something was not right."
The organizers spotted that the uptick of activity started on Sept, 19. Most noticeably, the purported rally-goers were from out-of-state. Not to mention that they had some questionable names, such as "Ivana Punchyou," "F**kyou Trump," and "Grabemby DePussay." Is that last name French?
Lantry's wife Jessica did some investigating and found the source for the fake rally participants — TikTok. A 19-year-old TikTok user who goes by the name of "Felisrae" posted a video on Sept. 19, subtly hinting for her followers to claim tickets to the Trump rally.
The 51-second video is captioned, "if you're from new york or just HATE this idiot."
"Do you hate this orange b**** as much as I do? It turns out that Trump is having a rally in Staten Island," the teen says on the TikTok video. "So what I did was, I reserved myself two seats. But I'm pretty sure that I have something to do that day. So, do what you want with this information."
The video racked up over 550,000 views and more than 154,000 likes on TikTok.
The goal of the video is to cause Trump supporters not be able to attend because the tickets will be gobbled up by people who had no intentions of attending. This troll tactic was employed in June for a Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
That campaign event was not as popular as other Trump events, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) celebrated the lower-than-expected turnout. "Y'all make me so proud," she said.
"Actually you just got ROCKED by teens on TikTok who flooded the Trump campaign w/ fake ticket reservations & tricked you into believing a million people wanted your white supremacist open mic enough to pack an arena during COVID," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted at former Trump campaign senior advisor Brad Parscale.
To deter the anti-Trump saboteurs from influencing the rally, Lantry added a non-refundable $5 fee to the online sign-up form. But the army of trolls were unflinching in their attempt to affect the rally.
"But they kept coming," Lantry said. "From Colorado and California and Chicago and Houston, all over the country."
The Staten Island GOP said that the organization sold more than 3,000 vouchers and collected $15,785 from people who had no intention of attending the rally.
To make matters worse for the Trump-hating trolls, the rally was attended by 2,500 people to deliver well-wishes to President Donald Trump. No seats were sold since it was an open-air rally. The attempted sabotage didn't affect attendance whatsoever.
"They hate this president so much that they're willing to donate to the Republican Party to troll him," Lantry gloated. "Thank you, progressives, for helping us put on a successful rally."


theblaze--2020-10-11--Jake Tapper schools top Biden official with constitutional lesson for defending false claim from Bid

Jake Tapper schools top Biden official with constitutional lesson for defending false claim from Biden 'There 's nothing unconstitutional about @ @ @ @ @ doing '

CNN host Jake Tapper schooled a top Biden campaign official on Sunday who defended Joe Biden's recent claim that Republicans are acting unconstitutionally by filing the Supreme Court vacancy with Amy Coney Barrett.
As TheBlaze reported, Biden has refused to state his position on court-packing, which Democrats have promised to do if Barrett is confirmed before Election Day.
On Saturday, Biden once again dodged questions about court-packing, instead claiming that, "It's not constitutional what they're doing."
What happened on CNN?
Tapper confronted Kate Bedingfield, Biden's deputy campaign manager, Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" over exactly what unconstitutional actions Republicans have taken. It did not end well for Bedingfield.
Tapper asked, "[Biden] said it's not constitutional, what they're doing. How is it not constitutional what they're doing?"
Bedingfield claimed in response that Biden's comments are referring to polls that show the majority of Americans want the winner of the election to fill the Supreme Court vacancy.
"His point is that the people have an opportunity to weigh in on this constitutional process through their vote," Bedingfield said. "And we are now in the midst of the election. Millions of people have already cast their votes. And you see that the vast majority of people say that they want the person who wins the election on November 3 to nominate the justice to take this seat."
Tapper fired back, "That's a poll. That's not the Constitution."
"So, by trying to — by trying to — that is their constitutional — there's the constitutional process of advise and consent," Bedingfield responded. "The American people get to have their say by voting for president, by voting for senators. We are now 23 days from the election."
"Right, but it's not unconstitutional," Tapper shot back.
When Bedingfield then claimed that millions of "voters are being denied their constitutional right to have a say in this process," Tapper gave Bedingfield another constitutional lesson.
"They elected the Senate," Tapper informed Bedingfield.
Bedingfield responded by claiming "most Americans vehemently disagree" with confirming Barrett prior to the election.
"Again, Kate, that's a poll," Tapper fired back. "That's not what the word constitutional means. Constitutional doesn't mean, I like it or I don't like it. It means it's according to the U.S. Constitution. There's nothing unconstitutional about what the U.S. Senate is doing."


theblaze--2020-10-11--Smithsonian 'Girlhood' exhibit features Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger and a transgender

Smithsonian 'Girlhood' exhibit features Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger and a transgender reality TV star

The 'Girlhood ' exhibition at the National Museum of American History claims that Margaret Sanger is 'complicated '

The Smithsonian Institute declared 2020 to be the "Year of the Woman," to commemorate the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage. The Smithsonian Institute celebrated the "Year of the Woman" by opening an exhibition at the National Museum of American History titled "Girlhood (It's Complicated)" on Friday.
The description by the Smithsonian Institute on its new "Girlhood (It's Complicated)" exhibit, "The history of girlhood is not what people think; it is complicated. Young women are often told that girls are 'made of sugar and spice and everything nice.' What we learn from the past is that girls are made of stronger stuff. They changed history."
The 5,000-square-foot gallery features five sections: Education (Being Schooled), Wellness (Body Talk), Work (Hey, Where's My Girlhood?), and Fashion (Girl's Remix).
The "Girlhood" exhibit has its own page on the website for the National Museum of American History, where there is a "Talking About Sex" section. There are subsections, including "Teaching about Reproduction," "Sex Ed vs. Abstinence," "Experimenting on Girls of Color," and "Birth Control."
Near the top of the page is a biography of Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, that reads, "Margaret Sanger, a writer and nurse, advocated for girls to know and control their own bodies - but only certain girls. Sanger believed that women who were poor or who had mental disabilities should not have children, in order to promote a 'healthy' society.'"
The Smithsonian Institute calls Sanger "complicated." "While eugenics was popular in Sanger's time, today such ideas are offensive for devaluing certain lives. How do we reckon with this important but complicated historical figure?"
The "Girlhood (It's Complicated)" website features a "Not Checking the Boxes" section that starts off by saying, "Sometimes gender isn't revealed at birth." The section discusses a person named "Ryan" who "was born intersex."
"Growing up, he was called by a name traditionally given to girls. But he adopted his name because he felt he possessed 'a girl body and a boy brain,'" it says.
"Ryan's story shows how checking boxes as male or female is limited," the Smithsonian Institute states. "Those boxes could never fully capture the complex realities of one's gender and sexuality."
The "Embracing Yourself" section features Jazz Jennings, a transgender reality TV star of the TLC show "I Am Jazz."
"She shares her girlhood with millions of Americans on television and reminds us that girls can be assigned male at birth and that girlhood comes in many forms," the Smithsonian Institute says. "Jazz always knew she 'was a girl trapped in a boy's body.' As a toddler, she felt a roar of emotions at not being able to communicate what she was experiencing."
In the "News and Politics" section of the website, it pays tribute to Naomi Wadler, an anti-gun activist who spoke at the 2018 "March for Our Lives" event at age 11.


theblaze--2020-10-11--Critical swing voters in battleground state reveal why Kamala Harris helps Trump's re-election chanc

Critical swing voters in battleground state reveal why Kamala Harris helps Trump's re-election chances

'Biden 's not going to make it four years '

When Joe Biden announced Sen. Kamala Harris as his vice presidential running mate, political experts predicted that Harris, being the first black female vice presidential nominee of a major political party, would boost Biden's standing with voters.
But selecting Harris, a progressive Democrat, may have actually harmed Biden's standing among swing voters in battleground states, according to a new focus group.
What are the details?
Following last week's vice presidential debate between Harris and Vice President Mike Pence, Axios conducted a focus group with Michigan voters who supported Barack Obama in 2012 but Donald Trump in 2016.
The majority of the swing voters said they would support Trump in this year's election because they believe Harris would eventually become president if Biden is elected.
"Biden's not going to make it four years, so Kamala Harris is going to be president and I have zero trust she can be president, so I'm just picking the lesser of two evils at this point," one voter, identified as Shelley D, said.
According to Axios, "everyone else in the group agreed" with Shelley D.
Other swing voters told Axios they felt "scared" over Harris' debate performance because she may help Biden win election, the voters said.
"I'm fearful of this woman because she knows how to strike chords with the people of America," a voter identified as Matt T said. "She's basically utilizing everything that has happened this year to attack the Trump campaign and she does it in such a way that she's making really strong points, but I don't think they're true. So she's coming across very powerful."
According to Axios, just two voters in the group of 13 will be voting for Biden — the other 11 will be sticking with Trump.
More from Axios:
These are some of the few voters for whom the vice-presidential pick has outsized importance in how they view the two tickets, and for now that's benefitting Trump.
...
While a focus group is not a statistically significant sample like a poll, the responses show how some voters are thinking and talking about the 2020 election in crucial states.
What do polls show?
According to the RealClearPolitics average of polling, Biden is leading Trump by almost 10% nationally.
Among battleground states — Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Arizona — Biden leads by an average of 4.5%. He leads in each state, with Pennsylvania being the largest margin and North Carolina being the smallest.


theblaze--2020-10-11--VIDEO: Student gets assaulted and spit on for supporting Trump — but refuses to give up his MAGA hat

VIDEO : Student gets assaulted and spit on for supporting Trump — but refuses to give up his MAGA hat @ @ @ @ @ , I do n't hit a little girl '

A video appears to show a teenage Trump supporter being assaulted and spit on at school because of his political beliefs.
A boy wearing an American flag-themed shirt had his "Make America Great Again" hat stolen by a female classmate. The girl refused to give back the boy's MAGA hat.
"Look how f****** stupid you look," the girl tells the boy, and then spits on him. "You f****** look like a clown!" She then points to the MAGA hat.
The boy attempts to take back his property. "Give me my f****** hat," the boy demands. A struggle ensues, and while the boy is grappling to retrieve his hat, a second female student winds up and smacks the boy in the face.
"It's my hat...it's my hat," the boy states.
The girl who stole the hat threatens, "Boy, I'm gonna knock you in your f****** mouth, let go of this f****** hat right f****** now! You wanna support Trump, I'm gonna knock you in the f****** teeth! I'ma knock you in the f****** teeth."
The girl then spits at the boy. She then turns to the camera, and then spits on the boy again.
"How you like that? You my little b****, huh? You my little b****," she says. "You my little b****, huh? Yeah, cuz it looks like it. My spit is on your face."
The camera zooms in on the boy and his face is covered in spit.
The girl dares the boy to hit her, but he is above the violence. "I was f****** raised right, I don't f****** hit a little girl."
This isn't the first time that Trump supporters have been targeted for wearing MAGA hats, which at times have turned violent.
In 2018, a man threw a drink at a 16-year-old for wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat at a Whataburger in Texas.
Last October, a Trump supporter wearing a MAGA hat in Minneapolis was spit on while he was giving an interview to VICE.
Last November, surveillance video was released of someone spitting on a 67-year-old man at a restaurant in Florida for supporting President Donald Trump.
In February, a retired NYPD officer alleged that he was punched in the face because of his MAGA hat.
Also in February, police said a 34-year-old man was arrested for assaulting a 15-year-old who was wearing a Trump hat at a polling tent at his high school in New Hampshire.
There are numerous instances of people attempting to steal the hats right off the heads of Trump supporters, including at Texas State University, a mall in Pennsylvania, a high school in Oklahoma, and two women stole a MAGA hat from a 7-year-old boy then assaulted his mother.


theblaze--2020-10-11--Biden confronted for hiding position on court-packing after saying voters don't deserve to know

Biden confronted for hiding position on court-packing after saying voters do n't deserve to know 'It 's not constitutional what @ @ @ @

Joe Biden was once again confronted on Saturday over his position on court-packing, which he has refused to make public.
This time, however, the former vice president repeated a falsehood about the Republican Party while still refusing to tell voters where he stands on court-packing.
What's the background?
On Friday, Biden told a Las Vegas reporter that voters don't deserve to know his position on court-packing.
The reporter asked, "Well, sir, don't the voters deserve to know?"
"No, they don't," Biden responded. "I'm not gonna play his game, he'd love me to talk about, and I've already said something on court-packing, he'd love that to be the discussion instead of what he's doing now. He's about to make a pick in the middle of an election, first time it's ever been done, first time in history it's ever been done."
What is Biden saying now?
When confronted by reporters outside his campaign airplane on Saturday over why he does not think voters should know his position on court-packing prior to the election, Biden repeated a falsehood about the Republican Party.
"The only court packing going on right now is going on with Republicans packing the court right now," Biden said.
"It's not constitutional what they're doing," he added. "I'm going to stay focused on it so we don't take our eyes off the ball here."
Court-packing became a major issue in the election after Republicans vowed to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court prior to Election Day. Democrats responded by threatening to expand the Supreme Court and pack it with ideologically liberal justices if they return to power.
Of course, court-packing, which was once attempted by former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, would remove partiality from the court.
But as Biden has continued to dodge answering questions about court-packing, Democrats have been circulating a falsehood about the Republican Party — that they're packing courts already.
Such claims are not true.
By definition, court-packing involves expanding the number of justices on a given court. In 1937, FDR advocated expanding the Supreme Court, via what is now referred to as his "court-packing plan," to obtain favorable rulings after significant portions of his New Deal were ruled unconstitutional.
Republicans, of course, have not expanded the number of seats on any federal court. They have, however, taken advantage of their Senate majority during a Republican presidency by confirming more than 200 conservative-leaning justices on every level of the federal judiciary.


theblaze--2020-10-12--American Bar Association gives Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett its highest rating

The American Bar Association on Sunday announced that it has given Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett its highest rating .
Monday is the start of Barrett 's Senate confirmation hearings .
What are the details ?
In a Sunday letter addressed to Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham ( R-S.C. ) and ranking member Dianne Feinstein ( D-Calif. ) , the American Bar Association advised that Barrett is `` well qualified '' for a position on the Supreme Court .
On Sunday , DC Examiner reporter Jerry Dunleavy shared the letter on Twitter , writing , `` The American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Amy Coney Barrett is 'Well Qualified ' on the eve of the start of her Supreme Court confirmation hearings . ''
A portion of the letter reads , `` The American Bar Association 's Standing Committee on the federal judiciary has completed its evaluation of the professional qualifications of Judge Amy Coney Barrett , who has been nominated by the President to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States . ''
`` As you know , the Standing Committee confines its evaluation to the qualities of integrity , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' the letter continues .
`` A substantial majority of the standing committee determined that Judge Barrett is 'Well Qualified , ' and a minority is of the opinion that she is 'Qualified ' to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States . ''
The letter concludes , `` The majority rating represents the Standing Committee 's official rating . ''
As noted by the Daily Wire , Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ( D-N.Y. ) in 2001 referred to the American Bar Association 's judicial ratings as the `` gold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
On Sunday night , Barrett released the opening statement she plans to issue on Monday morning .
You can read the remarks in their entirety here and below .

The American Bar Association on Sunday announced that it has given Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett its highest rating.
Monday is the start of Barrett's Senate confirmation hearings.
What are the details?
In a Sunday letter addressed to Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and ranking member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the American Bar Association advised that Barrett is "well qualified" for a position on the Supreme Court.
On Sunday, DC Examiner reporter Jerry Dunleavy shared the letter on Twitter, writing, "The American Bar Association released its determination that Judge Amy Coney Barrett is 'Well Qualified' on the eve of the start of her Supreme Court confirmation hearings."
A portion of the letter reads, "The American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the federal judiciary has completed its evaluation of the professional qualifications of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who has been nominated by the President to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States."
"As you know, the Standing Committee confines its evaluation to the qualities of integrity, professional competence, and judicial temperament," the letter continues. "A substantial majority of the standing committee determined that Judge Barrett is 'Well Qualified,' and a minority is of the opinion that she is 'Qualified' to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States."
The letter concludes, "The majority rating represents the Standing Committee's official rating."
What else?
As noted by the Daily Wire, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in 2001 referred to the American Bar Association's judicial ratings as the "gold standard by which judicial candidates are judged."
On Sunday night, Barrett released the opening statement she plans to issue on Monday morning.
A portion of her remarks read:
Courts have a vital responsibility to enforce the rule of law, which is critical to a free society. But courts are not designed to solve every problem or right every wrong in our public life. The policy decisions and value judgments of government must be made by the political branches elected by and accountable to the People. The public should not expect courts to do so, and courts should not try.
That is the approach I have strived to follow as a judge on the Seventh Circuit. In every case, I have carefully considered the arguments presented by the parties, discussed the issues with my colleagues on the court, and done my utmost to reach the result required by the law, whatever my own preferences might be. I try to remain mindful that, while my court decides thousands of cases a year, each case is the most important one to the parties involved. After all, cases are not like statutes, which are often named for their authors. Cases are named for the parties who stand to gain or lose in the real world, often through their liberty or livelihood.
You can read the remarks in their entirety here and below.


theblaze--2020-10-13--Georgia residents face long lines on first day of early voting. Some voters had to wait 'six hours o

Georgia residents face long lines on first day of early voting. Some voters had to wait 'six hours or more' to cast their ballot.

Georgia residents face long lines on first day of early voting .
Some voters had to wait 'six hours or @ @ @ @ @ ballot .
Delays have been attributed to a number of factors

Several Georgia precincts saw long lines Monday, as voters reportedly turned out in record numbers to head to the polls on the first day of early voting in the state.
What are the details?
The Associated Press reported that some locations were overwhelmed by the number of voters who turned out make their voices heard in the general election, with many people waiting several hours as poll workers battled technical difficulties and overall lack of space. Some critics declared the situation was evidence of voter suppression.
"Eager voters endured waits of six hours or more in Cobb County, which was once solidly Republican but has voted for Democrats in recent elections, and joined lines that wrapped around polling places in solidly Democratic DeKalb County," the outlet reported. "They also turned out in big numbers in north Georgia's Floyd County, where support for President Donald Trump is strong."
According to The Hill, technical issues with pollbooks (used to check in voters) caused major delays at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, but the situation was resolved after an hour or so.
NBC News published the experience of Cobb County voter Everlean Rutherford, who tweeted out a video of a long line in the morning hours at her polling place, writing, "I LOVE this. Early voting started today in Georgia. This is the voting line in Cobb County. You see this."
Rutherford sent out a number of updates throughout the day before finally tweeting, "Just finished voting. I started at 10:04 and just finished at 7:43pm."
Former Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill tweeted out a separate video from Georgia, alleging, "This is a picture of voter suppression. Why do Americans have to wait in lines this long? This is the line in Suwannee Georgia today to vote."
McCaskill received pushback from some people over the allegation of voter suppression. Jay Caruso, managing editor of The Washington Examiner, argued in an extensive thread that after living in Georgia for five years, he could attest that "it is one of the easiest states to both register and vote."
Others responded in agreement with the former Missouri senator, with one person arguing, "It's voter suppression because not everyone can stand in line for EIGHT FREAKING HOURS in the heat to vote! People have passed out, some have had to leave to go to work or pick up kids. This is a district that went for Hillary [Clinton] so the GOP wants to make it hard for them to vote!"


theblaze--2020-10-13--A woman allegedly cut a baby out of her pregnant friend's womb and tried to pass it off as her own.

A woman allegedly cut a baby out of her pregnant friend's womb and tried to pass it off as her own. She's been charged with murder.

A woman allegedly cut a baby out of her pregnant friend 's womb and tried to pass it off as @ @ @ @ @ been charged with murder .

Police say that a woman tried to pass off a baby as her own after she cut it out of her friend's womb, but both the pregnant woman and the baby died.
The horrific story unfolded in New Boston, Texas, a city of about 4,600 people near the Texas-Arkansas border.
Reagan Simmons Hancock, 21, was attacked and killed on Friday. She had been 8 1/2 months pregnant at the time and was found with the baby having been cut out of her womb.
The woman who is suspected of committing the attack was later pulled over by police in Oklahoma. She claimed that she had given birth to the child on the side of the road and they were both taken to a hospital in Idabel, Oklahoma.
Medical professionals there deduced that she had not given birth. The baby later died at the hospital.
The woman was arrested and charged with kidnapping and murder of the baby. More charges are expected to be filed against her.
The victim's mother told Fox News that the baby had been due Nov. 10.
"We just want our beautiful baby remembered and known for the amazing person she was and for people to see she did not deserve this," she said.
She also said that she was the one who found her daughter after the attack.
The East Texas community has raised tens of thousands of dollars for the surviving members of the family. A GoFundMe account for the family says that the suspect attacked Hancock after pretending to be her friend.
Hancock also had a 3-year-old daughter. She said in a Facebook post that she was going to name her new baby daughter Braxlynn Sage.
Here's a local news report about the horrendous story:


theblaze--2020-10-13--Chad Prather claps back, challenges liberal pundit after triggered verbal attack on Trump supporters

' I hope you can carry the weight , son '

On Monday, BlazeTV host Chad Prather called out liberal pundit Keith Olbermann for an unhinged verbal assault on President Donald Trump, Trump's enablers, and Trump's supporters.
What did Olbermann say?
Trump can be and must be, expunged. The hate he has triggered, Pandora's boxes he has opened, they will not be so easily destroyed.
So, let us brace ourselves. The task is two-fold: the terrorist Trump must be defeated, must be destroyed, must be devoured at the ballot box, and then he, and his enablers, and his supporters, and his collaborators, and the Mike Lees and the William Barrs, and Sean Hannitys, and the Mike Pences, and the Rudy Gullianis and the Kyle Rittenhouses and the Amy Coney Barretts must be prosecuted and convicted and removed from our society while we try to rebuild it and to rebuild the world Trump has destroyed by turning it over to a virus.
Remember it, even as we dream for a return to reality and safety and the country for which our forefathers died, that the fight is not just to win the election, but to win it by enough to chase — at least for a moment — Trump and the maggots off the stage and then try to clean up what they left.
Remember it, even though to remember it, means remembering that the fight does not end on November 3, but in many ways, will only begin that day.
In this clip, Chad clapped back at Olbermann with suggestions on how to try and remove his Trump-supporting self from society.
"Come expunge me from society, Keith Olbermann," Chad challenged. "I hope you can carry the weight, son."
Watch the video for Chad's full response.
Use promo code CHAD to save $10 on one year of BlazeTV.
Want more from Chad Prather?
To enjoy more of Chad's comedy, craziness and common sense, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution and live the American dream.


theblaze--2020-10-13--Trump is a 'DOER', Biden a 'political parasite': Behavioral scientist Gad Saad on why so many people

Trump is a 'DOER', Biden a 'political parasite': Behavioral scientist Gad Saad on why so many people support Trump

Trump is a 'DOER ' , Biden a 'political parasite ' : Behavioral scientist Gad Saad on why so many @ @ @ @ @ that , I can respect Trump and not Biden '

Do you have a hard time engaging your "Orange Man Bad" friends? Behavioral scientist and author Gad Saad has an explanation for the anti-Trump hysteria in his new book, "The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense."
Gad joined Glenn Beck on this week's podcast to explain why so many young Americans drawn to socialism and Marxism, how the pursuit of social justice has "murdered objective truth," and what it is about President Donald Trump that makes some people refuse to even consider supporting him — even when his opponent is an aging Joe Biden. But he also dives into why so many others support him: Unlike Biden the "political parasite," Trump is full of energy and "a doer."
"When I look at Trump, I'm exhausted just seeing how much energy he has … he's a doer. He's done a million things. Now sometimes he's succeeded, sometimes he's failed, but he's tried many different things, in many different arenas. So he's a doer … he can't stop. He probably sleeps two or three hours a day. I respect that," Gad said.
"Then you look at someone like Biden, basically a political parasite," he added. "Forty-seven years and … what is his CV [curriculum vitae]? Nothing. He's just someone who never said something sufficiently ugly that he was kicked out of politics. He was a parasite. And so, if only that, I can respect Trump and not Biden."
Watch a clip from the full podcast below, or find the full interview with Gad Saad here.
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Subscribe to Glenn Beck's channel on YouTube for FREE access to more of his masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, or subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution and live the American dream.


theblaze--2020-10-13--Dr. Fauci says Trump campaign 'harassing' him by quoting him in new ad

Dr. Fauci says Trump campaign 'harassing ' him by quoting him in new ad 'They are indeed Dr. Fauci 's @ @ @

Dr. Anthony Fauci is not happy that President Donald Trump's reelection campaign has quoted him in a new ad, saying that his words were taken out of context and that the campaign is "in effect, harassing" him by featuring him.
What are the details?
The Trump-Pence 2020 campaign released a new ad in recent days titled "Carefully," which begins by saying, "President Trump is recovering from the coronavirus, and so is America. Together, we rose to meet the challenge. Protecting our seniors, getting them life saving drugs in record time — sparing no expense."
It goes on to say that the president "tackled the virus head-on, as leaders should," then cuts to Fauci saying, "I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more."
Carefully www.youtube.com
Fauci is not a fan of the new ad.
He told CNN in reaction, "In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials."
CNN host Jake Tapper asked Fauci in an interview what his thoughts would be if the Trump campaign put out another ad quoting him, to which the doctor said, "You know, that would be terrible. I mean, that would be outrageous if they do that. In fact, that might actually come back to backfire on them. I hope they don't do that, because that would be kind of playing a game that we don't want to play."
He added that he hoped they would reconsider if such a plan is in the works.
Dr. Fauci reacts to Trump ad: It's clear I'm not a political person www.youtube.com
What did the Trump campaign say?
On Sunday, Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said in response, "These are Dr. Fauci's own words. The video is from a nationally broadcast television interview in which Dr. Fauci was praising the work of the Trump administration. The words spoken are accurate, and directly from Dr. Fauci's mouth."
President Trump tweeted, "They are indeed Dr. Fauci's own words. We have done a 'phenomenal' job, according to certain governors. Many people agree...And now come the Vaccines & Cures, long ahead of projections!"
Dr. Fauci told The Daily Beast on Monday, "By doing this against my will they are, in effect, harassing me," speaking of the Trump campaign. "Since campaign ads are about getting votes, their harassment of me might have the opposite effect of turning some voters off."


theblaze--2020-10-12--White House physician update says President Trump has tested negative for coronavirus

White House physician update says President Trump has tested negative for coronavirus The president says he has a 'protective glow @

The latest update from the White House physician said that President Donald Trump had tested negative for the coronavirus.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany posted the statement from Dr. Sean Conley to her official social media account on Monday.
"In response to your inquiry regarding the President's most recent COVID-19 tests, I can share with you that he has tested NEGATIVE, on conservative days, using the Abbott BinaxNOW antigen card," read the statement.
"It is important to note that this test was not used in isolation for the determination of the President's current negative status," Conley continued and listed the numerous criteria used for his determination.
"This comprehensive data, in concert with the CDC's guidelines for removal of transmission-based precautions, have informed our medical team's assessment that the President is not infectious to others," he concluded.
Trump upended the news cycle when he tweeted on Oct. 2 that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus. He received treatment during a weekend stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and returned to the White House on Oct. 5. He said that he had experienced only mild symptoms from the virus.
Conley had said in a previous update on Saturday that the president was no longer contagious so that he could continue campaigning in public. Many critics noted that the language he used tiptoed around whether the president had tested negative or not.
The new update clearly settled the issue on Monday.
'A protective glow'
The president touted his medical results in a phone interview Sunday with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News.
"I passed the highest test, the highest standards, and I'm in great shape. And I have to tell you, I feel fantastically, I really feel good," the president said.
"I even feel good by the fact that the word 'immunity' means something. Having really a protectiveglow means something," he concluded. "I think it's very important to have that. To have that is a very important thing.
Here's more about the president's health:


theblaze--2020-10-12--Roberta McCain, mother of late Sen. John McCain, passes away at 108

Roberta McCain , mother of late Sen. John McCain , passes away at 108

Roberta McCain, the mother of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain (R), has passed away at the age of 108.
What are the details?
Cindy McCain, the widow of John McCain, announced the news Monday on Twitter, writing, "It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my wonderful Mother In-law, Roberta McCain. I couldn't have asked for a better role model or a better friend. She joins her husband Jack, her son John and daughter Sandy."
Fox News reported:
A native of Muskogee, Okla., Roberta Wright was nearly 21 and a college student in southern California when she eloped to Tijuana, Mexico, in January 1933 with a young sailor named John S. McCain, Jr. He would go on to become a Navy admiral, like the father he shared a name with, and the couple would have three children — Jean, John and Joseph — within a decade.
Tributes poured in for the McCain family over the loss of their matriarch, an oil heiress who hit the campaign trail at the age of 96 to help John in his second campaign for president in 2008. John died in 2018 from a brain tumor.
His daughter and "The View" co-host, Meghan McCain, tweeted Monday, "I love you Nana. You're everything I ever aspired to be. Thank you for teaching us all about living life on your own terms with grit, conviction, intensity and love. There will never be another one like you, you will be missed every day. I wish my daughter had gotten to meet you."
Longtime journalist Greta Van Susteren tweeted, "My very dear friend Roberta McCain died...108 1/2 and what a great run it was and what a great friend she was to me. She loved adventure..loved a good party. Yes, she was elderly but I still never believed this day would come..."
The Washington Post's obituary for Mrs. McCain noted that Sen. McCain said of his mother in his 1999 memoir, "Faith of My Fathers": "She was a willful, rebellious girl."
The Post's piece concluded:
In her 90s, Mrs. McCain spent three hours each Tuesday morning at the National Gallery of Art or the Freer Gallery of Art, whose collection of Chinese porcelain she particularly admired. Asked by Vogue to explain her longevity, good health and general fearlessness, she shrugged.
"I don't do anything I'm supposed to do. I don't exercise and today, I've already eaten a half a box of caramel popcorn," she told the magazine. "Honey, I've had a dream life, and it was all luck."


theblaze--2020-10-12--Watch: Kanye West releases presidential campaign ad emphasizing faith, family — asks Americans to wr

Watch: Kanye West releases presidential campaign ad emphasizing faith, family — asks Americans to write in his name

Watch : Kanye West releases presidential campaign ad emphasizing faith , family — asks Americans to write in his name @ @ @ @ @ together so that 'we may prosper together '

Rapper Kanye West has dropped his first campaign ad mere weeks ahead of Election Day, wherein he places an emphasis on faith and family before asking his fellow Americans to write in his name at the ballot box.
What are the details?
"What is America's destiny? What is best for our nation, our people? What is just? True justice," West begins in his ad. "We have to think about all these things together as a people. To contemplate our future, to live up to our dream, we must have vision.
"We as a people will revive our nation's commitment to faith, to what our Constitution calls the free exercise of religion, including, of course, prayer," the billionaire musician and fashion mogul continues. "Through prayer, faith can be restored. We as a people are called to a greater purpose than ourselves."
Rallying Americans to come together, West says, "We are not only a beacon to the world, but we should be servants to each other. To encourage each other, to help each other, to lift up each other — our fellow Americans, that we may prosper together."
He adds, "We have to act on faith, with the sure knowledge that we are pursuing the right goals and doing the right things. We will build a stronger country by building stronger families. Families are the building blocks of society, of a nation. By turning to faith, we will be the kind of nation, the kind of people, God intends us to be."
The ad concludes with a call for Americans to vote for the 43-year-old West, and to write in his name.
Anything else?
The Hill reported that the rapper is running under the beacon of the Birthday party, and "has failed to make the ballot in most states and has polled in the low single digits when included in surveys."
West, whose running mate is "Biblical life coach" Michelle Tidball, 57, in the long-shot White House bid, does not mention any of his opponents in the ad.
West has expressed his support for incumbent President Donald Trump in the past, and told Forbes over the summer, "Trump is the closest president we've had in years to allowing God to still be a part of the conversation."
The outlet reported that West "expressed comfort with the idea of doing damage to [Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's] White House chances."


theblaze--2020-10-12--Ocasio-Cortez says Republicans would reject Jesus Christ if He came to the floor of Congress

Ocasio-Cortez says Republicans would reject Jesus Christ if He came to the floor of Congress The odd claim came during @ @ @ @ @ Barrett 's nomination

Firebrand socialist Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York made a bizarre accusation against Republicans during the first day of the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.
Ocasio-Cortez accused Republicans of religious hypocrisy when she made the claim from her social media account on Monday.
"Sick and tired of Republicans who co-opt faith as an excuse to advance bigotry and barbarism," tweeted Ocasio-Cortez.
"Fact is, if today Christ himself came to the floor of Congress and repeated his teachings, many would malign him as a radical and eject him from the chamber," she claimed without evidence.
She added a video from a liberal news outlet of her comments excoriating Republicans during a House Oversight Hearing in February on religious freedom.
"Sometimes, especially this body, I feel as though if Christ himself walked through these doors and said what he said thousands of years ago, that we should love our neighbor and our enemy, that we should welcome the stranger, fight for the least of us," she said in the video, "he would be maligned as a radical and rejected from these doors."
'Sharia law would be trending right now'
Ocasio-Cortez went on to retweet another rhetorical attack on religious conservatives from her colleague Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a Muslim member of Congress.
"Let's be clear about this: if a Muslim woman was nominated to SCOTUS you would see Republicans lose their mind about her religious background," Omar tweeted.
"'Sharia law' would be trending right now," she added without evidence. "Miss me with the pearl-clutching and all this righteous talk about religious freedom."
Republicans have defended the Supreme Court nominee from what they say are bigoted attacks from Democrats criticizing Barrett for her deep Catholic faith. Democrats have countered by accusing them of trying to advocate for far-right policies under the cloak of religious freedom.
In her opening statement to the Senate Judicial Committee on Monday, Barrett said that she would continue to consider arguments based on their merits and on what the law says, not on her own personal preference of what the laws should be.
Here's the video of Barrett's opening statement:


theblaze--2020-10-12--Glenn Beck reveals Biden family's slave-owning history — but will the left CANCEL him?

Glenn Beck reveals Biden family 's slave-owning history — but will the left CANCEL him ?
'If you call the @ @ @ @ @ country based off its past , then what does that make Joe Biden ? '

Do you believe that all human beings are created equal and none of us should be held accountable for what our ancestors did?
That's what Glenn Beck believes, but — as he pointed out on the radio program Monday — the critical-theory-loving left is out to cancel our "entire country" and its founding because of our history with slavery. Unless, that is, the slave-owning lineage happens to belong to one of their own.
A new report from a famous, well-known genealogy organization shows hard evidence that Joe Biden's ancestral line owned slaves, just like Thomas Jefferson, who, according to the left, must be destroyed. So, why has nobody looked into that?
"Everyone is too comfortable, in the Democratic Party, with this cancel culture. The entire country is canceled now because of our history," Glenn stated. "This bleeds into your personal history. Redemption no longer means anything. A pivot point, life changing, a switch in thinking or behavior — it counts for nothing with the left."
Glenn pointed out how people like Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and ABC's late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel can either use or make fun of blackface without being cancelled. And then there's Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, who worked with segregationists, but is somehow exempt from cancellation. Biden's crime bill was the exact opposite of what the left is now proposing. How many black Americans were sent to prison because of that law? And yet, Joe "you-ain't-black" Biden is continues to be immune to the left's cancer culture rage.
"You know, the left went after [President] Trump's family history and viciously knocked his roots. The New York Times went after the family's business dealings, going back to his father. The media has gone after his children, despite no criminal activity ... and the attacks even include the president's youngest child, Barron," Glenn said. "But what about Biden's father's ancestral line? Why has nobody looked into that?"
Glenn shared the details of the report's findings, which you can also find HERE.
"It's weird that nobody has ever really dug this far into Biden's father's side, or family. Or did they and just did not want this to get out?" Glenn asked. "After knowing this, and if you worship at the altar of cancel culture and social justice, can you call for the destruction of statues and monuments and still vote for Joe Robinette Biden? After all, his family was there, and they owned slaves — just like Thomas Jefferson who must now be destroyed.
"Can you still vote for Joe Biden? Can you do it? I'm just curious. I don't know. I don't make the rules. If you call the America of today an evil country, based off its past, then what does that make Joe Biden?" he added. "I personally don't think the sins of his family tree mean anything at all to the man of today. But that's not how today's modern left operates now, is it? I mean, I'm just going by their rules. And if I go by their rules, Joe Biden should be canceled."
Watch the video below for more details:
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theblaze--2020-10-12--Embarrassing footage from Biden event shows Trump supporters drowning out the candidate with chants

Embarrassing footage from Biden event shows Trump supporters drowning out the candidate with chants of 'Four More Years' — from hundreds of feet away

Embarrassing footage from Biden event shows Trump supporters drowning out the candidate with chants of 'Four More Years ' — @ @ @ @ @

Just days after virtually no one showed up to see him speak in Phoenix, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden had another embarrassing campaign moment, this time in Ohio.
What are the details?
While speaking Monday at a drive-in event in Toledo about jobs and the economy, the former vice president was repeatedly drowned out by supporters of President Trump chanting "Four More Years!"
Footage from the event posted on Twitter by NBC News reporter Marianna Sotomayor show Biden speaking in front of parked cars while the Trump supporters, located hundreds of feet away and across the street, waved flags and made enough noise that Biden couldn't be heard clearly.
According to Sotomayor, the Trump supporters chanted "Four More Years," "Trump," and "USA" throughout the event whenever Biden mentioned the president.
During the campaign stop, Biden touted his economic recovery plan to "Build Back Better" and slammed the president as "reckless."
"The longer Donald Trump is president, the more reckless he seems to get," Biden said during the speech. "Trump panicked. His reckless personal conduct since his diagnosis has been unconscionable."
The event was the first of two that the Democratic nominee had planned in Ohio on Monday. The Biden campaign is scheduled to hold a get-out-the-vote event in Cincinnati, Ohio, later in the evening.
What else?
In a phone interview with reporters, Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien mocked Biden over the size of crowds at his campaign rallies.
"Joe Biden, speaking of travel, is going to be in Ohio today speaking to literally several people on the ground — a state the president won in 2016 and is going to win again in November," he said, according to CBS News. "We are quite happy to see Joe Biden wasting a valuable day on the campaign trail in a state that he won't win in three weeks."
The Trump campaign, citing its confidence in the president's chances of winning Ohio, has opted not to spend ad money in the state even as Election Day draws ever nearer.
Ohio is considered a must-win swing state for both presidential campaigns. In 2016, Trump carried the state by more than 8 percentage points.
According to RealClearPolitics polling averages, the race is extremely tight in the battleground state with Biden holding a 0.6% lead.


theblaze--2020-10-12--Teacher to HS class: Those who say 'Make America Great Again' actually mean 'make it kinda racist an

Teacher to HS class: Those who say 'Make America Great Again' actually mean 'make it kinda racist and sexist again'

Teacher to HS class : Those who say 'Make America Great Again ' actually mean 'make it kinda racist and @ @ @ @ @ the old days when they could just be a white dude that walked up and @ @ @ @ @ and nobody said anything '

A California public school teacher was caught on video telling his students that those who say "Make America Great Again" — the slogan from President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign — actually mean "make it kinda racist and sexist again."
What are the details?
According to a video tweeted by Ryan Fournier, founder and chairman of Students for Trump, Patrick Casey was teaching a freshman honors English class at Oxnard Union High School last month when he told students what the "MAGA" phrase truly means.
"White men miss the old days where they could just be a white dude who walked up and grabbed women by their genitals and nobody said anything, right?" the teacher was seen saying during the video excerpt from the class. "But you can't do that now, so that's why there's all these people like, 'Make America Great Again.' What they mean is, 'Make it kinda racist and sexist again.' That's what they're talkin' about."
The clip has been viewed over 300,000 times since it was posted Friday.
The College Fix said it asked Casey and Oxnard Union District Interim Superintendent Tom McCoy for comment on the matter, but the outlet said it didn't receive a reply in time for publication.
Haven't we seen this movie before?
Such behavior from teachers has happened more than a few times since classes have resumed around the country online:
A New Jersey public high school teacher last week ordered a student to take down a Trump 2020 flag hanging in his room that was visible during an online class — or leave the virtual session.
A Tacoma, Washington, teacher reportedly berated a 10-year-old student who recently revealed during a virtual class that Trump is the person he most admires.
A northern California high school teacher recently threatened to kick a student out of a virtual class unless he removed a Trump 2020 flag from his camera background.
Of course, such sentiments among teachers aren't exactly new, either:


theblaze--2020-10-12--Watch SUPER TRUMP battle COVID-19 and the Cuomo brothers in this animated parody adventure

SUPER TRUMP is a political-themed animated comic, not to be confused with news. "Louder with Crowder" recommends common sense along with the will to smile for optimal enjoyment. Fact-checkers and meme-haters, avoid looking like an idiot: We know it's not real.
President Trump (the orange man) did not, at any point, receive a Diet Coke I.V. drip. Trump never threw the Cuomo brothers to planet Mars. Sadly.
SUPER TRUMP, the animated parody, did main-line soda and rid Planet Earth of the Cuomo Brothers. Don't be a killjoy, sit back, and enjoy the adventure of Steven Crowder's SUPER TRUMP. The cartoon is all in good fun!
Use promo code LWC to save $10 on one year of BlazeTV.
Want more from Steven Crowder?
To enjoy more of Steven's uncensored late-night comedy that's actually funny, join Mug Club — the only place for all of Crowder uncensored and on demand.


theblaze--2020-10-12--Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine says Biden shouldn't answer court packing question 'because it's not his b

Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine says Biden shouldn't answer court packing question 'because it's not his business'

Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine says Biden should n't answer court packing question 'because it 's not his business '

As Democrats and the Joe Biden presidential campaign hover between refusing to answer the question on packing the Supreme Court or redefining what "packing the courts" means, one Senate Democrat says it's none of Biden's business anyway.
Speaking Monday on Fox News, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said the reason Democratic nominee Joe Biden won't give his opinion on packing the courts is because it's "not his business." He argued that under the Constitution it is Congress, not the president, who dictates the composition of the Supreme Court by law.
"Why won't he answer that question?" host Bill Hemmer asked Kaine.
"Well, I haven't asked him but I have a pretty good idea, Bill. Because it's not his business, the Constitution gives no power to the president or vice president to pack the court," Kaine said.
"It's not a presidential responsibility. Congress, according to Article I of the Constitution, sets the composition. So that's why it's not even a part of the campaign plan," he continued.
Several progressive Democrats have argued that if Senate Republicans are successful in confirming Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the current vacancy on the court, the next Democratic Congress and president must expand the court to undo a potential 6-3 conservative majority.
Last Thursday, Biden again refused to answer the question when confronted by a reporter about his position on packing the Supreme Court.
"You'll know my position on court packing when the election is over," Biden said.
"You know, the moment I answer that question, the headline in every one of your papers will be about that, other than focusing on what's happening now. The election has begun. There's never been a court appointment once an election has begun," he added.
Biden's running mate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) likewise dodged the question during her debate with Vice President Mike Pence last week, instead attacking President Trump for making 50 court of appeals appointments and not nominating any black judges.
Other Democrats have attempted to redefine the term, accusing Republicans of "court packing" by filling court vacancies with President Trump's nominees. Traditionally, "packing the court" refers to expanding the number of seats on the court to create a more favorable ideological makeup of the bench, not filling vacancies, which is the constitutional duty of the president and the Senate.
Biden himself pointed out in a 1983 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on nominations to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights that the origins of the term "court-packing" go back to Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt's threat to expand the Supreme Court after several of his New Deal programs were ruled unconstitutional.
"President Roosevelt clearly had the right to send to the United States Senate and the United States Congress a proposal to pack the court. It was totally within his right to do that. He violated no law. He was legalistically, absolutely correct," a 40-year-old Biden told the commission. "But it was a bonehead idea. It was a terrible, terrible mistake to make. And it put in question, if for an entire decade, the independence of the most-significant body … in this country, the Supreme Court of the United States of America."
Sen. Kaine was asked about Biden's 1983 comments, which suggest that the composition of the court is, in fact, a president's business.
"You haven't heard Joe Biden say he wouldn't send a plan to the court — I don't think this is a matter for the president at all," Kaine said, likely misspeaking as a president would send a court packing plan to Congress, not the court.
Kaine then accused Republicans of making two "momentous changes" to the way the court is composed, warning "they're about to make a third."
"The first was they refused to entertain the nomination of Merrick Garland, depriving President Obama in a historic way of being able to fill a position," Kaine said. "Second, we used to require that a Supreme Court justice get 60 votes, a bipartisan measure of support, and we thought that was a good idea — Democrats thought that was a good idea, the Republicans changed that to elevate Neil Gorsuch to the court."
The third change, Kaine argued, would be hypocritically confirming Barrett during an election year after refusing four years ago to give Garland a hearing.
Kaine did not mention that it was then-Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) who first ended the filibuster for circuit court level judicial nominations, creating the precedent that Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) invoked in ending the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations.
Prompted by Hemmer, Kaine also predicted that Barrett will have enough votes to be confirmed to the Supreme Court before the election on Nov. 3 but said he hopes the confirmation hearings will persuade some Republicans to change their votes and the next inaugurated president fill the court vacancy.


theblaze--2020-10-12--Nursing home residents stage heartbreaking protest outside facility: 'Rather die from COVID than lon

Nursing home residents stage heartbreaking protest outside facility: 'Rather die from COVID than loneliness'

Nursing home residents stage heartbreaking protest outside facility : 'Rather die from COVID than loneliness '

Residents of a long-term nursing and rehabilitation facility in Colorado organized a protest against the state's COVID-19 restrictions on Thursday.
What are the details?
According to KCNC-TV, the protest took place at Fairacres Manor in Greeley.
The station reported that many of the facility's residents — many of them in wheelchairs — stood outside of the facility and held signs that read "Rather die from COVID than loneliness," "Give us freedom," "Prisoners in our own home," and more.
In a statement, Ben Gonzales — assistant administrator at the facility — said that Fairacres' residents are not happy.
"They want to be able to hug their grandchildren, they want to be able to hold the hands of their loved ones," he said.
Resident Council President Sharon Peterson — a 75-year-old woman — told the outlet that she and other residents are desperate for a change.
"We used to be lucky here at Fairacres to show each other what we mean to one another and we cannot do that anymore," Peterson said. "Fairacres follows the rules and, with that, we think they would keep us safe while being able to be with our families again."
Peterson, who helped to organize the demonstration, said that the protest was necessary because "one thing we have to look forward to is a simple hug."
"It gives us meaning," she said. "Fairacres needs to be commended on how well they have cared for all of us, but it's time for our voices to be heard."
Gonzales said that several staff members joined those at the protest, and pledged that the staff wants residents to know "that their voice does matter."
Gonzales also said that Fairacres staff and residents sent letters to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment as well as Gov. Jared Polis's office in August, begging for rules to be relaxed to permit physical contact. Gonzales said that no one received a response to the inquiries.
In response to the protest, Polis issued a statement.
“We absolutely understand how difficult it has been for residents of residential care facilities and their families," Polis's office said on Friday. "Social interaction is essential to physical and mental health, and so we have provided guidance to residential care facilities that allows for that interaction while also keeping residents safe from COVID-19."
The statement continued, "Restrictions have been in place previously, but residents are now able to visit loved ones both indoors and outdoors. In addition, we are doing everything possible to help long-term care facilities mitigate and prevent the spread of COVID-19 by working directly with facilities on proper infection control practices that have been proven to slow the spread of COVID-19."
According to the Greeley Tribune, the nursing facility was the site of a COVID-19 outbreak in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
"The outbreak was discovered in late March," the outlet reported. "From then until mid-May, 16 residents were lab-confirmed positive for COVID-19 with another two dozen residents determined to be probable cases, according to CDPHE data."